HISTORY, ROMANCE AND...CATS!
Grace Elliot leads a double life as a vet by day and author of intelligent historical fiction by night. Grace is an avid reader and believes that smart people need to read romance - as an antidote to the modern world!
Grace is also obsessed by all things feline.

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Wednesday, 2 July 2014

As Popular as Wimbledon: 19th Century Attractions

Inside the Exeter Exchange, 1812

Between the World Cup and Wimbledon, it seems everyone is
talking about, or watching sport this summer. But in previous centuries, it was
curiosities that attracted the crowds, sights such as unusual animals or the
exotic. Typical of this, in the late 19th century, was George
Pidcock and his hugely popular menagerie at the Exeter Exchange.

Mr. Pidcock started out as an itinerant showman, hawking animals
around fairs and markets. But the poor roads made it difficult to move the
animals in winter and Pidcock needed a base. He bought a four-story building,
the Exeter Exchange, in the Strand, London – and made his fortune.

The Exeter Exchange

The animals included a rhinoceros, kangaroo, lynx, zebra and
rare birds and Pidcock found the public paid handsomely to view his animals,
and what started as a temporary solution turned into a permanent display. Such
was the success of the venture that he went on to add tigers and an elephant!

The visitor paid a shilling to view the three main exhibits,
or two shillings to see everything. The menagerie was open for twelve hours a
day from 9 am and the most popular time to visit was feeding time at 8 pm. The
later was signaled by Chunee, the elephant, ringing a bell.

"The Lords of
Parliament and the lions of Exeter Change all dined at about eight."

William
Clarke, journalist.

One famous visitor, Lord Byron, remarked that the hippotamus
had the face of the Prime Minister, Lord Liverpool – possibly a dubious
anecdote since no record exists of a hippo at Pidcock’s menagerie.

Munito, the learned dog

Another major attraction in the 18th – 19th
century were performing animals. One such was Munito the ‘learned’ dog. First
shown by Signor Castelli in London, 1817, the dog played dominoes, did card
tricks and performed arithmetic. Decades later, Charles Dickens recalls, as a
boy, seeing Munito.

“About 45 years ago, a learned dog was exhibited
in Piccadilly - Munito … He performed many curious feats, answering
questions, telling the hour of the day … picking out any cards called for from
a pack on the ground.”

Charles Dickens, 1867

Incidentally,
Dickens was determined to work out how Munito did his tricks – which perhaps he
did.

“We watched more narrowly … noticed that between
each feat the master gave the dog some small bits … of food, and that there was
a faint smell of aniseed from that corner of the room.”

Dickens believed
that as the owner set out the cards, he pressed his thumb on the chosen card
impregnating it with the scent of aniseed which Munito had been trained to recognize.
Apparently, he confronted Signor Castelli after the show, with this
explanation, who ‘did not deny the
discovery.’

Another late 18th
craze was the performing pig trained by Samuel
Bisset. Reputedly he bought the black piglet in Belfast market for 3
shillings, and tutored him for two years before The Learned Pig first
made his debut in 1783, Dublin. The pig knelt and bowed, used cardboard letters
to spell out names and could point to the married people in the audience. The
act succeeded Bisset's wildest dreams and the couple were warmly welcome in
novelty seeking London.

"…solves
questions in the four rules of arithmetic, tells by looking at a …watch, what
is the hour and minute and is the admiration of all who have seen him."

"…the tongue of the
most florid orator…can sufficiently describe the wonderful performance of that
sagacious animal."

So convincing was the pig's performance that some religious
people claimed he was possessed and 'corresponding
with the devil'. Others saw it as proof that the soul could migrate
suspecting that: 'The spirit of the
grunting Philosopher might once have animated a man.'

The act amazed the audience as the pig spelt names out with
cardboard letters. Crowds flocked to see him and with four shows a day, was rumored
to take the huge amount of 70 pounds a week in ticket sales.

After a long London
run the pig joined a circus performing at Sadler's Wells Theatre. A group of
acrobats, incensed at being asked to share a billing with a performing pig,
threatened to resign and were sacked on the spot. By 1786, in the world of
entertainment the Learned Pig ruled.

"A far greater
object of admiration to the English nation than ever was Sir Isaac
Newton." Robert Southey

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